Judaism and Christianity ─ New Directions for Dialogue and Understanding

The notion underlying the anthology is that Jews and Christians must approach each other with a clear perception of their own faith's beliefs and world views, and be prepared to engage the other in serious debates over the elements of faith and theology that distinguish each community. The 11 essays, reprinted from Review of Rabbinic Judaism, consider in turn the first centuries, the Middle Ages, and the modern period. Among their topics are the zodiacs of the ancient synagogues; planting Christian trees in Jewish soil; Muslim, Christian, and Jewish cultural interaction in Sephardic Talmudic interpretation; Don Quixote as Talmudist and much más; a Judaic response to H. Richard Niebuhr's Christ and Culture after 50 years; and the agenda of Dabru Emet. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Alan J. Avery-Peck is Kraft-Hiatt Professor of Judaic Studies at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts. Specializing in Jewish history and religion in the first six centuries C.E., he is a co-editor of The Encyclopaedia of Judaism (second edition in 4 vols., Brill, 2005) and The Mishnah in Contemporary Perspective (in 2 vols., Brill, 2002-2006). He is editor of the journal The Review of Rabbinic Judaism.Jacob Neusner is Distinguished Service Professor of the History and Theology of Judaism and Senior Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College, Annandale-Upon-Hudson, New York. A member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, and life member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University, in England, he is the internationally recognized author of hundreds of books on Judaism.